


The Need of the Love Outweighs the Need of the Coffee or the Bean,

by Maymot97



Category: Star Trek: Enterprise
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Elizabeth lives with him, Mississippi towns with coffee shops are interesting (and not like Starbucks coffee either), Multi, Trip has tats and works in a coffee shop to pay for school, mostly AU!Malcolm really, several oc's - Freeform, still in 22nd century and still has Starfleet and stuff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-29
Updated: 2015-03-23
Packaged: 2018-01-27 00:30:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1708292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maymot97/pseuds/Maymot97
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Malcolm is living in a small Mississippi town and walks into the new coffee shop where he meets Trip, a college student and only other employee (besides the owner) to work at the coffee shop.Things hit off and they flirt, but then Trip gets.. shh!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own the characters or anything really.

Malcolm Reed was not a morning person, no matter what anybody who’s ever known his says. Growing up the only son in a military family had instilled in him the need to be up at dawn- that doesn’t necessarily mean that Malcolm enjoyed this habit. So as an adult- a working adult- he managed his habit with copious amounts of caffeine.

 

So it was with great enthusiasm that he first entered the new (and only) coffee shop in the small southern, American town he had found himself in. He was on his way to work- at the only bookstore in town, it was hard to find a job in explosives that wasn’t military and Malcolm wanted to get as far away from military as he could possibly get even Starfleet wasn’t tempting enough.

 

There wasn’t as long a line as Malcolm had assumed there would be, seeing as the only other semi-decent place to get coffee was the McDonald’s out on the highway. He could only catch a glimpse of the barista, but from the chattering of the ladies standing in line in front of him the barista was attractive.

 

And, boy was he. The man had blonde hair and eyes so blue they could make the sky jealous. He was wearing a tank top, which was perfectly acceptable in the heat _and_ humidity of the Mississippi delta summer. His arms both had tattoos on them- the left a few hearts on his bicep and a purple ribbon with the words “Don’t Forget” on them, followed by two dates. The right arm had a couple of tulips intertwining together all the way up his arm. The man was staring at Malcolm, his eyebrows just barely furrowed but his mouth was upturned at the corners, the tip of his tongue poking out the side.

           

“Do you know what you want to order?” he asked, looking like he had already asked once.

 

Malcolm blinked a couple of times, his mouth simultaneously opening and closing a few times before he managed to get out, “An iced blondie, please, with an extra shot of espresso and whipped cream.”

 

The barista nodded, writing the order on the side of the cup and handing it to his assistant behind him- Malcolm thought that she looked to be a younger sibling. The man turned back around and smiled at Malcolm.

 

“You don’t sound like you’re from around here,” he said, letting his own accent- most definitely not a Mississippi accent- drawl exaggeratedly.

 

Malcolm chuckled lightly. “Neither do you, if you don’t mind me saying.”

 

The barista laughed out right and lifted his hands to his chest, palms facing Malcolm. “You caught me! So where are you from?”

“England,” Malcolm said, “But I’ve lived her for nearly, ooh, three years now? Enough time to know what people sound like. Where are you from?”

 

“Panama City, Florida.”

 

Malcolm raised an eyebrow, making him think of Vulcan’s and their odd habits briefly. “What brings you up here?”

 

The barista shook his head as he grabbed Malcolm’s cup back from his sister (now filled with the appropriate drink), wrote something on it, and handed it to Malcolm. “School. I’m going to Morehead to get my core classes done and then I’m gonna go to Ole Miss.”

 

“Law?” Malcolm asked, before taking a sip of his drink, smiling brightly at the taste. “This is very good.”

 

The barista smiled. “Thank you, and no not law. Engineering, I don’t have the patience for law.”

 

Malcolm nodded. “Are you going to be a civil engineer or…?”

 

“Nah, I’m planning on joining up with Starfleet as soon as I can.”

 

Malcolm nodded again, feeling a bit of loss that this very attractive man would be leaving in sometime to go to space. He glanced down at his watch as he took another sip, and almost chocked.

 

“I have to get to work,” he offered in response to the barista’s questioning look.

 

The barista nodded and wished him a good day, a sentiment Malcolm returned.

 

As Malcolm walked out of the shop, he glanced down at his cup and smiled at what he saw.

 

Written in neat beautiful handwriting was the name “Trip Tucker” and a phone number.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry that it took me this long to get the chapter up.

The next day Malcolm was running late for work, and was therefore kept from visiting the coffee shop, and more importantly its insanely attractive barista. So, Malcolm decided, he would go at lunch and see him- err, buy some coffee.

At eleven thirty Malcolm walked into the coffee shop, almost not sure if it was open. But as he was about to leave Trip came out from the back room and smiled at him.

“Hi,” he said, motioning for him to come forward. “I didn’t hear you come in. Sorry. What would you like?”

Malcolm looked at the menu board behind Trip and said, “A large caramel macchiato, please?”

“Do you want whipped cream?”

“Yes, please.”

Malcolm watched as Trip moved around, admiring the way that he carried himself, so much more relaxed than Malcolm.

“Why do you want to join Starfleet?” the Brit asked.

Trip shrugged when he put the cup on the counter. “It’s just something I’ve always wanted to do: become an engineer and work on a starship. I’ve had a deep admiration for Emory Erickson since I was a kid. What about you? Why do you work at the bookstore?”

“Income, mostly,” Malcolm answered, leaning on the counter and taking a sip of his coffee. “This is very good.”

Trip inclined his head, a smile playing at his lips. “Thank you. So if the bookstore is income what would you really enjoy doing?”

“Well, my passion is explosives, but it’s kind of hard to get a job with explosives that isn’t military or fireworks.”

“What’s the aversion to military?”

“Grew up in a military family. I’d like to make my own path. Plus, my family’s been in the Royal Navy for generations and I’m sort of afraid of drowning.”

Trip leaned on the counter. “You could join Starfleet.”

Malcolm shook his head. “Too close to military. I’d get so… stiff. I spent my whole childhood stiff and I’m trying to relax.”

Trip nodded. “I understand. It’d be a shame to leave someone as cute as you behind, assuming I ever end up on a ship.”

Malcolm ducked his head down and blushed. He looked back up at trip and smiled briefly. Trip smiled back.

“Do you, umm, do you want to get dinner tonight?” Trip asked, ducking his own head down.

“S-sure. I’d love to. Where would you like to go?”

Trip shrugged. “There’s a Chinese restaurant that I’ve been meaning to go to. Assuming you, uh, like Chinese that is.”

Malcolm smiled. “I do love Chinese. You mean the one on Park right?”

The blond nodded. “Yeah. So, meet you there?”

“That sounds good. What time?”

“Around seven, I guess.”

Malcolm nodded. “I’ll see you then.”

Trip grasped one of Malcolm’s hands and lightly kissed the back of his knuckles. “See you then.”

 

Malcolm pulled his car into a parking space in front of the restaurant, and let out the breath he’d been holding. It was just a date, he kept telling himself. It’s not like he’s going to end the evening married to the man.

Inside the restaurant he found Trip sitting at one of the two person tables along the right wall. Malcolm nodded at the hostess and walked over to the table.

Trip saw him while was walking over. A smile blossomed over his face and he stood up.

“Hey,” he said, reaching out towards Malcolm and grasping his hand. “I’m glad you came.”  
Malcolm smiled. “I wouldn’t miss it.”

They both sat back down and looked at the menu. Trip kept glancing up and looking at Malcolm.

“What do you recommend?” he finally asked, setting the menu on the table.

Malcolm chuckled. “Anything with chicken is good. I partial to the sesame and lemon chicken.”

Trip nodded. “Lemon chicken is always good. I think I’ll get that.”

“Then I guess I’ll get the sesame. Be warned, it comes with broccoli around the sides, if that’s not your thing. You can ask them to leave it off.”

“Thanks for the warning.”

Malcolm smiled at him once again, before also setting his menu down. He looked around the walls at the paintings on them. The owner of the restaurant said that they had been on the walls since the early 21st century- almost since her family had opened the restaurant. On one wall the paintings were koi fish and on the other were lily pads. When Malcolm turned back to Trip, he found the barista staring at him, a small smile playing at his lips.

“Yes?”

Trip shook his head. “You’re cute when you get lost in thought.”

Malcolm laughed. “I’m not used to so many people calling me cute. It honestly doesn’t happen a whole lot.”

“I’m honestly surprised,” Trip said, raising both of his eyebrows. “You don’t meet a whole lot of cute guys like you.”

“You’re just being kind.”

Trip reached over and grasped Malcolm’s hand. “I’m being truthful.”

 

After dinner was over, Trip walked Malcolm back to his car, a little, pretty beat up thing from the 2120s. Malcolm leaned against it and smiled at Trip.

“I had a good time,” he said.  
“Yeah, me too.”

Malcolm chewed on his bottom lip for a second before asking, “Would you like to come back to my place for a bit?”

Trip smiled, and looked to the side for a second before looking back, his face looking a bit guilty. “I would love to, but I gotta make sure that my sister get’s to bed on time. It was one of the reasons that our parents let her come up here with me.”

Malcolm shrugged. “Fair enough. I’ll see you tomorrow at the shop?”

Trip grabbed his hand and pulled it up to his lips. “I look forward to it.”

Malcolm raised an eyebrow- which was then mirrored by Trip- and after a few seconds of silence they both burst out laughing.

Malcolm was still snickering a little bit once he got home.

**Author's Note:**

> The paintings are based on the paintings in the Chinese restaurant in my town that my art teacher did.


End file.
